vmware server on a dell venue tablet

I have a Dell Venue tablet. It has a 32 bit Windows 8.1 PRO installed as the OS. This tablet runs a quad core Atom processor and has 64 bit architecture ( if that matters).

I want to run Windows 7 or Windows 7 pro in order to use a Jupiter VPN link that isn't working with Windows 8.1. If I had VMware server installed on the tablet, could I accomplish my goal? Would it run reasonably fast?

VMware DOES have a solution ....
It is called VMware Workstation 11. It will set you back couple of hundred but it is well worth the money!
Use the win 8.1 as your "host" operating system.
The workstation 11 is a type 2 hyper visor and you will be able to create virtual environments for jus about any OS running concurrently with the Win 8.1 and seamlessly switch between them.

VMware Player is free and provides the same hypervisor as VMware Workstation. It's missing a few of Workstation's features (most notably Snapshots) ... but for what you want to do, it should work fine.

Note that this will only work on the most recent Atom's that have hardware virtualization support. But since yours is a quad-core Atom, you'll be fine.

An alternative to VMWare Player that is also free and probably has the additional features of VMWare Workstation would be Oracle's VirtualBox. Also although VMWare Player/Workstation are good products, they don't install on some hardware (at least not the latest version). I think you need at least a CPU with SLAT and built-in virtualization technologies. Atoms tend not to have those features (although some may have them). VirtualBox doesn't need those.

If your CPU does have SLAT, I'd suggest you move from your 32 bit OS to 64 bit, and then use 8.1's built-in Hyper-V server as hypervisor. As that is a type 1 hypervisor (compared to the type 2 which VMWare Player/Workstation and VirtualBox are), you'd get better performance.

"... Atoms tend not to have those features ..." ==> True for older Atoms, but as I noted above the new quad-core versions DO have hardware virtualization support. Intel's processor spec site (which I checked before posting above) shows which CPU's have which advanced features.

"... Your OS product key should be good for either 32 and (sic) 64 bit" ==> Retail keys can indeed be used for either 32 or 64 bit installs (but not both). OEM keys, however, are only good for the version they're supplied with.

There is, of course, NO reason to use VMware Workstation when the free VMware Player provides effectively the same capability for free. And there's no debate about whether it will work -- the quad-core Atom has hardware virtualization support and will run it just fine.

As I noted earlier, the only feature that Workstation adds that would be nice to have is Snapshots. The other features [cloning, remote vSphere connections, shared VMs, etc.) that Workstation adds simply aren't required.

... and by the way, the current version of Workstation is v10 (not 11).

You wouldn't be allowed to use VMWare Player if this is being used in a company environment, the player can only be used privately, so then you'd either have to use workstation, or like I mentioned, VirtualBox. But Hyper-V would still be the best option.

@rreiss60: VMWare Workstation and VMWare Player are good options to run Windows 7 on your Windows 8.1 PRO tablet. However, the guest OS may function a bit slow.

Instead of getting third party products ($$/Free) - you can very well enable virtualization (Hyper-V) that is built into the Windows 8.1 PRO.

Windows 8.1 includes Hyper-V, the same machine virtualization technology that is part of Windows Server. Hyper-V lets you run more than one 32-bit or 64-bit x86 operating system at the same time on the same PC, by running them inside a virtual machine.
For more information, please visit: Microsoft Hyper-V in Windows 8.1

Once you are done installing Windows 7, disable AERO and other not required startup applications and background services to reduce memory consumption. This will help the Guest and Host OS run smooth. If you have ample of RAM on table, probably no need to disable the stuff that I mentioned above.

While Windows 8's Client Hyper-V is indeed a very nice hypervisor and a good option on systems that support it, that is NOT the case here, for several reasons ...

First, as I noted earlier, the system is a 32-bit version of Windows 8, and Hyper-V requires a 64-bit version. The OEM license can NOT be used for a 64-bit install, so that's not a viable option.

Second, and more important, the quad-core Atom does NOT support extended page tables, which are required for Hyper-V ... so even if the system was reloaded with the 64-bit version of Windows 8.1 Hyper-V would not work.

The Atom DOES support Vt-x (hardware virtualization support) ... so it will work fine with VMware Player. I agree any VM is going to run fairly slow on this hardware, but it WILL work, and should be plenty fast enough to run the communications link the author wants to use. In any event, since VMware Player is free, it certainly doesn't hurt to try it (assuming the author has a Windows 7 license he can use for the VM).

As he's using Windows 8.1 Pro, I don't think he's using an OEM version of the OS. Most devices come with the standard version, which would be OEM, but pro usually gets installed by the user or the employer, and then it is normally a VL or retail version, but of course I'm mainly assuming here, as the author hasn't given any feedback...

It is, of course, irrelevant, since switching to the 64-bit version has no benefit, as it still can't run Hyper-V, and VMware Player will work fine with the 32-bit version. Since Venue's only have 2GB of RAM so there's no addressing benefit. I also doubt this has been reloaded -- it's very likely the OS is simply the Dell OEM version that's delivered with the tablet. As the tablet is referred to as a "Venue 8 Pro", the author likely assumes the OS is 8.1 Pro, although I suspect it's just 8.1 standard [It's actually not clear on Dell's site which edition they use, although I'd expect it to explicitly note Pro if it was the Pro edition.]

My Dell Venue tablet shipped with Windows 8 Pro OEM, it was updated to 8.1 via Windows Update. (there are also two nice stickers on the back, Intel and Pro (Windows 8), that's about the only nice thing about it!)

It uses an Intel Atom Z2760 1.80GHz with 1.92GB RAM with a 64GB hard drive.

Which is odd, because I find this is a dual core, and no Intel VT support. But the Dell specs state it's a Quad Core, it's possible the Dell specs have changed since obtaining mine.

I think the specifications of Dell Venue tablets now shipping are different to those that shipped in November 2013!

As a side note, the Quad Core could make it more usable, because this thing is a door stop, it's certainly no Android Tablet or Apple iPad! (and as for the Microsoft Surface RT! - just don't ask me to review!).

So, back to question Check your Processor supports Intel VT ? otherwise you'll not be able to do anything! (if you have Quad, you could be okay!)

Very interesting that yours has a dual core Atom. Dell's site clearly indicates it a quad core Atom ... and as the only quad-core Atom shown on Intel's site is the E3845, I'd assume that's the CPU that's used. Note that this Atom DOES have Vt-x support. And of course it's significantly faster than the Z2760 ... running about 3 times as fast in most benchmarks I've seen. From your experience, it sounds like that's needed for this little tablet ... hopefully that makes it a more useable device than you've experienced.

Nice to confirm that Dell does ship these with Win8.1 Pro (assuming that hasn't changed).